"Set PreferLocalFiles in Engine.ini to 1. This file can be found on Vista/Win7 in C:\Users\Username\AppData\Roaming\Ubisoft\Anno1404\Config\Engine.ini. It’s probably something like C:\Documents and Settings\Username\Application Data\Ubisoft\Anno1404\Config\Engine.ini on XP."

for some reason i dont have a folder named application data anywhere on my c: the only engine.ini is in the game folder, but it only had 2 lines that certinly didnt have anything to do with 'preferlocalfiles'

How to unlock all bonus content in Anno 1404/Dawn of Discovery, for the base game or for the Venice addon.

Here is how to get all the bonus buildings without spending years gathering achievements.

1. Make a backup of your Anno 1404/DoD folder in program files AND of your profile which you can find in C:\\Users\[YOUR USERNAME]\AppData\Roaming\Ubisoft\Anno1404\Profiles2. Download RDA Explorer from www.mediafire.com/?zycazu9u0el0b4i. The instructions are here: anno1404.wikia.com/wiki/External_tools#1404_RDA_explorer and here:anno1404.wikia.com/wiki/Modding3a. If you DO NOT have the venice addon, then in RDA explorer, navigate to the 'maindata' folder in the main Anno 1404 installation folder. In there you will find patch1.rda. Open it and extract properties.xml from data>config>game.3b. If you DO have the venice addon, then in RDA explorer, navigate to the 'addon' folder in the main Anno 1404 installation folder. In there you will find patch0.rda. Open it and extract properties.xml from addondata>config>game. 4. Open properties.xml in notepad and find the part where you have xml tags 'costs' bracketing a number which is the gem cost of the bonus content, 10, 20, 200, etc. Change all the numbers to 1. Note that changing them to 0 will break the content.5. If you want to properly cheat and have all the portraits you will also need to delete the xml tags associated with achievement prerequisites. They are right under the 'costs' tags.6. Save properties.xml and put it back into either the patch1.rda or patch0.rda file according to the version of the game you have, following the instructions for RDA explorer.7. Load up the game - all bonus items now cost one gem each. You can get enough gems to buy it all by renaming your ship or city a few times - see page 1 of this thread for the names.

Here is how to get all the bonus buildings without spending years gathering achievements.

1. Make a backup of your Anno 1404/DoD folder in program files AND of your profile which you can find in C:\\Users\[YOUR USERNAME]\AppData\Roaming\Ubisoft\Anno1404\Profiles2. Download RDA Explorer from www.mediafire.com/?zycazu9u0el0b4i. The instructions are here: anno1404.wikia.com/wiki/External_tools#1404_RDA_explorer and here:anno1404.wikia.com/wiki/Modding3. In RDA explorer, navigate to the maindata folder in the main Anno 1404 folder. In there you will find patch1.rda. Open it and extract profiles.xml from data>config>game.4. Open profiles.xml in notepad and find the part where you have xml tags 'costs' bracketing a number which is the gem cost of the bonus content, 10, 20, 200, etc. Change all the numbers to 1. Note that changing them to 0 will break the content.5. If you want to properly cheat and have all the portraits you will also need to delete the xml tags associated with achievement prerequisites. They are right under the 'costs' tags.6. Save profiles.xml and put it back into the patch1.rda file according to the instructions for RDA explorer.7. Load up the game - all bonus items now cost one gem each. You can get enough gems to buy it all by renaming your ship or city a few times - see page 1 of this thread for the names.

This is just for the base game but I imagine you can do a similar procedure for the Venice addon.